Pages

Monday, March 12, 2012

Motivation Monday: Missoula Marathon offically an entrant!

I have had marathon in the back of my mind all winter. I had always kind of had it in my head that I wouldn't do one until both the kids were in school so I could do my long runs while they were at school.

Over the winter I ran a lot thanks to a pretty mild winter. I got in a lot of 13 and 14 mile runs, then I did a 15, then a couple weeks ago I decided to go longer, longer than I had ever gone and did 17, and then 18 miles and I started to believe that maybe I should do one sooner.

Like this spring or early summer sooner. I was really hoping to find a late May or June one. I don't have a big travel budget so it has to be fairly close. The best one I could find for me was the Missoula Marathon on July 8th.

The whole July thing bothers me a little, can you say HOT! But the marathon has great reviews and is supposed to be great for first time marathoners. It starts at 6 am, I would feel a little better if it started at 5 am, but it I guess I am not the one organizing it.

I am trying not to have to high of goals going into this, ultimately I would like to finish in under four hours and my super awesome goal is to do it in 3:40. That is what the calculators say I should be able to do. Although I know if it is too hot that will probably go right out the window.

There are 117 days to go. I can do this! As someone told me : You only get one first marathon. I am determined to enjoy it no matter what.

I would love to hear people's thoughts on getting in runs longer than 20 miles before the big day. I feel like I need to and or should, but have noticed a lot of training plans don't call for runs longer than 20 miles.

31 comments:

Congrats on registering for your first marathon!!! You will totally rock it! I know 3:40 or better is so going to happen for you, you have a solid base and great paces to prove it!!

For my first and second marathon I only did 20 miles as my longest training run. For my 3rd I did a 22 mile training run and I have to say I think it helped me a lot more mentally than physically. During race day when I got to that 22 mile mark I knew I could run 4 more miles and that race also happened to be my current PR, not sure if it's a coincidence or not :) but I definetly plan to run 22 miles as my longest training run for any future marathons. I know some people that run 24 miles but I think 22 is probably the longest training run I would do. I think you should judge how your first 20 miler goes and how long it takes you to recover and decided after that if a longer run is for you?

Congrats on the entry!! I think you've been really ready for awhile now! You're a great runner and you'll do great on the BIG DAY! With that said, I'm not as quick as you but I've run 5 marathons now and I think, for me, that I should have run at least to 23. My longest run was 20 miles going into the first two marathons and both I started to feel kinda gross around mile 22. The last marathon I did, I didn't hit the wall till 24 / 25. I say go over 20. It can't hurt.

Did I already mention how excited I am for you? I don't think you should worry too much about your time. Just worry about pacing it right (hold youself BACK in those first few miles because you will feel like a rock star--going too fast leads to bonking), and your time will be amazing no matter what given how talented you are.

I've always done better in the marathons where I exceeded 20. You don't want to do too much of this--one or two 22-24 milers go a long way--but my opinion is they do help.

I think that long runs are the best indicators as to how your body will handle the 26.2 miles. My current training plan has three 19 milers, three 22 milers, and two 24 milers. I know that seems like a lot, but it does give me a lot of confidence before race day. I would say to at least try and get in two 20 mile runs prior and you should be fine.

I haven't ran anything beyond 13.1 miles yet. But with my current half marathon, I actually ran a 13.1 mile as a training run. I think it helped me prepare for the distance - mentally knowing that I can do it and do well and physically subjecting my body to the distance. I usually tire around 7ish to 8 mile and this time around, I started to fizzle around mile 9 and was kinda out at late 10-ish. So I think the extra distance helps prepare your body physically to go the distance. I dont think it will hurt. I believe you have the speed and the training almost down. It is really the mental part (but then again, you have always been determined, so I think you will be fine.)Trust yourself. I think you will have a great first marathon experience.

eeeeeekkkkkk!!!! i am so excited for you to officially be a marathoner! you are so strong and so talented in running...i know it will be an unforgettable amazing experience! I have never gone over 20...i think if you do its more for your own mental sanity than anything else. honestly my experience thus far has been that the first 20 miles are truly physical...maybe the first 23...the last 5k-10k are always mental and heart for me. this may just be my experience though!

so exciting and you are going to do so well - you've built an amazing base! On my last (and best) marathon training I did one 20 miler and two 22 milers and they TOTALLY helped. I highly recommend it - both mentally and physically it's beneficial. With your base you will be able to handle it just fine...can't wait to read all about it!

Not sure i should be giving out any marathon training advice, but i would find a plan with a few 20 milers. It's nice to have a few to use as practice race rehearsals and if you are sick or not able to get one in, there is another one on the schedule.

OH! YAY!!! I am so excited you moved it up. You are so marathon ready. As you know I have no experience but I've been (slowly) reading "marathon" by Hal and it's taught me so much! I think you should read it while you're training. He said for more experienced runners you can take your long runs past the 20miler "wall" but most people won't go over 24. I think you'd be fine with a 22 miler somewhere before.

I am so sure that time goal is completely feasible too. You are a fast, strong runner and I think you'll be really surprised with yourself :D

You are going to have a great time! I only ran 20 miles before my marathon and I was fine. I did hit the wall about mile 22 or 23, so maybe doing a couple of longer runs would have prepared me better for that? I would say that it wouldn't hurt to run one or two longer runs just to get the feel for the race. But I wouldn't run too many, as you don't want to burn yourself out!

Oh. Also, for my first marathon, I did only one 20 mile run, about 2 (maybe 3?) weeks before. And only one run other than that over 16. I think you have a strong base, and you will do fine. But... if for peace of mind you want to run a few, I say do it. You have plenty of time.

Again, so happy for you, it's about time, because in my head, you are pretty much one of the marathon gals already!

I did maybe 3 or so 20's (one of which was a 22) before Richmond and then one more 20 in the month between Richmond and Rehoboth. I don't think it's super important to go above 20 more than once, it's just more of a mental confidence booster! But that's just what worked for me.

yay!!! You are going to do amazing!I did a 20, 21 and 22 miler before my first marathon. I don't know if it necessarily helped to go up to 22, but it didn't hurt, either :). I haven't decided if I will do any more than 20 milers this time around.

July would scare me too, but a 6am start does help! I agree that 5am would be better...but I am a morning person and a hater of hot runs. I don't have any real advice on the runs because I haven't done a marathon, but I think you should do what will make you feel prepared. It seems like a lot of people say you only need to do 20 but then they run more. So who knows? It is hard to balance being prepared and over-training I think...but like I said, I've never done one!! Good luck with training!!

Yaaaaaay! I've been waiting for you to post this! You are going to do so awesome, I can't wait!!!! I have only ever gone as high as 20 in my training, but I definitely plan to add a 22 in next time. Good luck!